It wasn't even Thanksgiving yet. I turned on my radio just at the beginning of John Lennon’s iconic holiday song. There are no introductory chords or solos, just John, in his straightforward way, not wasting any time, starting “And so this is Christmas, and what have you done?” Just in that one sentence are two good reasons why I love listening to John Lennon. One is his directness when he needs to get his point across, and the other is his social conscience. And every time I hear that one phrase, I start thinking: just what have I done? Not nearly enough, I’m afraid. There is still war, famine, and disease. I know, I can’t end these things by myself. But there are others out there trying and giving the ultimate sacrifice. And our clients: so many of them are struggling just to make it day-to-day. They have health problems, job problems, family issues, houses that are falling down or being foreclosed on, and sometimes, no house to go to.

As people are living longer, an increasing number of children have to take an active role in managing their parents’ care. MetLife estimates that there are 10 million people over the age of 50 in the United States caring for an elderly parent. In addition to the physical care needs of their parents, many children are finding themselves in charge of their elderly parents’ finances. Unfortunately, the children sometimes get an unpleasant surprise when they go through mom and dad’s checkbook.